Center support for roller awnings



Nov. 5; 1940.

F. A. ANTON CENTER SUPPORT FOR ROLLER AWNINGS Filed March 7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 5, 1940. F. A. ANTON CENTER SUPPORT FOR ROLLER AWNINGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiIed-March 7, 1938 enter Frederic/04.14%

Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,220,311. CENTER SUPPORT FOR ROLLER AWNINGS Frederick Aw Anton, Topeka, vKans.

' Application March 7, 1938,.Serial-No. 194,428

8 Claims. (c1. 15644) This invention relates to center supports for roller awnings and has for its general object to produce a catenary or sling-suspension endless belt support so mounted that the length of ,the weight supporting run of the belt can be adjusted against the load of the awning roller without likelihood of placing unequal tension along the opposite sideedges of the supporting belt. It has been found that if the belt is subjected to uneven 10 tension along its side edges it results in the uneven wrapping or winding of the awning fabric around the awning roller.

Another object of theinvention is to produce an improved type of center support, regardless of whether the awning roller is carried by a belt or by a series of separate rollers, in which the spacing between the usual overlying guard roller and the underlying support, remains the same for equal diameter awning rollers, regardless of the pitch of the awning when spread. With the center supports now in use, given a pair of equidiameterawning rollers, the spacing of the guard roller for a flat pitch must be greater than'for a steep pitch; but with the support of the invention the spacing will remain the same, the support as a whole bearing an arcuate adjustment with relation to the building front.

A further object is to produce a center support of such nature that the front portion of the support can move downwardly to a lower horizontal plane so that an awning roller may be placed on the support by moving it horizontally inwardlytoward the building front, or may be placed on the support from below rather than from a plane above the support. With all center supports with which I am familiar, the awning roller, if placed after the support has been positioned, must be lowered onto the support from above, the usual guard roller being removed or swung to one side to accommodate the placing of the awning. roller. In the present invention, on the other hand, the guard roller may be in a fixed horizontal plane. This construction is of special advantage where the awning is mounted within a recess or boxing as employed in modern store fronts.

A further object of the invention is to produce a belt type center support in which the tendency of the belt tensioning or take-up mechanism to thrust outwardly on the awning roller is to some degree compensated by having a difierential arrangement. The mounting is such that an inward thrust on the awning roller is so related to the take-up adjustment'that the movement of the axis of the awning roller is substantially vertically upward, since the maintenance of the axis of the roller in line with its end journals is the desideratum in all center'supports.

With the general objects named in view and others as will hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel and useful features of 5' construction and organization of parts as hereinafter described; and in order that it maybe fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a center support'em- 1 bodying the invention, the wound awning being indicated in section.

Figure 2 is a central vertical section through the center support and awning roller. I

Figure 3 is atop plan view with the awning 15 omitted.

Figure 4 is a view on the line IVIV of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the center support adjusted to receive an awning roller. '1}

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the wall bracket and a part of the frames carried thereby.

' Figure '7 is a fragmental front View of the center support as it appears preliminary to adjustment to receive an awning roller. 5

Referring to the drawings in detail, a wall bracket or plate comprising a body portion 1, shown as having its side edges formed with forwardly-projecting vertical flanges 2, the upper ends of the flanges being prolonged to provide ears 3, and the lower ends shaped to provide. downwardly and forwardly sloping stops or abutments 4; "Although the wall bracket may be mounted fixedly to the wall or building front, in its preferred form as shown, it is provided with 35 a central upstanding top lug 5 having an in verted key-hole opening 6 to rockingly fit over and be supported on the end of a headed bolt 1 carried. by the building front adjacent an awning roller"8 on which fabric 9 is wound. The support may thus rock to accommodate inclination of the axis of the awning roller.

Each ear 3 has pairs of alined openings l 0, and one pair of the openings of the two ears are brought into registry with one pair of a series of 45 alined openings I l in a pair of vertically disposed arms l2, shown as of generally C-shape, one arm I2 fitting against the inner faces of each of the ears 3, and bolted in adjustable relation thereto as at l3, so that saidarms provide a frame to re- 50 ceive support elements of any desired type for the awning roller 8. By shifting the position of the registering pairs of holes, it will be apparent that the frames l2- have arcuate adjustment with re? lation to the supporting bracket l, and when as fixed in position comprise an extension of the wall bracket.

In the form of the device as shown, each of the side arms or members l2 of the arcuately adjustable frame, at their lower ends, are offset laterally outward as at M so that such lower portions of the arms are in the vertical plane of the stops or abutments 4 andpreferably rest thereagainst to take some of the load off the securing bolts l3. Although the frames l2 are described as equipped with a belt-type awning support, their arcuate mounting is useful with other types of supports for awning rollers. As shown, each of the members l 2 has openings I5 at its lower front end, and one of said members is formed with a depending abutment lug l5. Any pair of openings H in the frames l2 constitute supports for a rod or shaft l'l carrying a horizontal roller l8 spanning'the against any possible dislocation of the awning space between the upper intermediate part of said arms l2. In the construction shown the nuts of 1 the bolt l3 form stops preventing'endwise slip-' ping of the rod l1, although the shaft may be otherwise secured, if desired. The upper outer ends of the frame arms I2 are shown as offset laterally inward both of the intermediate spacing and the wider bottom spacing of said arms, and

at their ends carry a guard roller or member l9, although it will be apparent that the guard roller may be of any desired length. Thus it will be evident that the arcuately adjustable frames l2 may carry any preferred awning roller support, and that the awning roller support and the customary guard roller will be arcuately adjusted to suit the pitch of the awning when spread without change of their positions relative to each other, since the whole center support will be adjusted at right angles to the plan-e of the building front.

A rock or sub-frame for adjustment for belttensioning purposes, comprises a cross-bar 20, and pair of front arcuate arms 2| and rear arcuate arms 22. The sub-frame is disposed between the lower or oifset' portions of the arms l2 of the arcuately adjustable frame and is movably mounted therein. In the construction shown the sub-frame is rockingly mounted on a shaft or trunnions 23 engaging alined openings IS in the lower ends of the frame l2. Carried by the front and rear arms 2|-22 respectively, of the subframe, are belt rollers 24 and 25 of substantially the same dimensions as the roller l8.

In the construction here shown the rollers I8, 24 and 25 are encircled by an endless belt 25, the run of the belt between rollers 18 and 24 forming a sling or support for the awning roller 8, and the roller 25 being adjustable in position under the load imposed by the awning roller, to vary thelength of the supporting run of the belt. To effect this adjustment of the center of the awning roller to insure that it is held insubstantial alinement with its end bearings, the sub-frame is equipped with an adjusting bolt 2| abutting the lug 16. The bolt is threaded through an arm 28 projecting laterally from the sub-frame, so that as the bolt is turned in the proper direction, the

. arm 28 is thrust away from the lug, and hence the rock frame is turned on its pivots 23. In the present exemplification of the invention, the

-. the belt tightening operation tends to move the normal position as shown in Figure 1.

28 is then swung to reengage the bolt 21 with the axis of the awning roller upwardly and outwardly without the counter-action of the inward thrust of the preferred construction illustrated.

The arm 28 is pivoted within a bifurcated lug 29 of the rock frame and can be swung laterally to withdraw the bolt 21 from the path of the lug I6. This is done to permit the rock frame to be swung as shown in Figure 5, until the roller 24 is far enough away from the roller l9 to permit the awningroller 8 to be passed sidewise between rollers l9 and 24, and into position on the supporting belt. When this position of the awning roller is effected, the rock frame swings back to The arm abutment lug 16 thereby arresting and holding the rock frame against further movement and with the rollers l9 and 24 close enough to guard roller from the center support.

From the above description, it will beapparent that I have produced a construction embodying all of the features of advantage set forth as desirable, and while I have described and illustrated the preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that I reserve the right to all changes within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A center support for roller awnings, comprising a supporting arm for attachment to a building front, a second arm movably related to the first arm, a plurality of parallel rollers, some journaled in the supporting arm and others in the movable arm, an endless belt encircling said rollers and adapted to support an awning roller on one of its runs, and means reacting in opposite directions against the supporting-and movable arms to effect positioning of the latter to bodily shift the movable arm belt rollers under the load imposed by the awning roller while maintaining the axis of such belt roller parallel to the axes of the other belt rollers.

I 2. A center support for roller awnings comprising a supporting arm, asecond arm rockingly mounted in the supporting arm, a pair of parallel belt rollers journaled in the rocking arm and adapted to have their horizontal axes respectively in vertical planes behind and in front of the vertical plane of an awning roller, a belt roller journaled in the supporting arm parallel to the other belt rollers, an endless belt encircling all of said rollers and supporting the awning roller between belt rollers respectively journaled inthe supporting and rocking arms, and means reacting in opposite directions against the supporting and rocking ams to bodily rock the latter to tension the belt against the load of an awning roller.

3. Acenter support for roller awnings comprising a wall bracket adapted to besecured to a building front, a supporting arm carried by the wall bracket, said arm having extensions adapted to overlie and underlie an awning roller, a guard roller horizontally journaled in the outer end of the upper extension in a vertical plane in front of the vertical plane of the axis of the awning roller, awning roller-supporting means carried by the lower extension of the arm, the opposite sides of said supporting means being in vertical planes at opposite sides of the vertical plane of the axis of the awning roller, the distance between the upper front side of the supporting means and the overlying guard roller normally being less than the diameter of the awning roller, and means for swinging the supporting means downwardly and outwardly to increase the vertical distance between its upper front side and the overlying guard roller to permit of entry or exit of an awning roller.

4. A center support for roller awnings comprising a wall bracket adapted to be secured to a building front, a supporting arm'carried by and arcuately adjustable on the wall bracket in a plane at right angles to the plane of the building front, said arm having extensions adapted to overlie and underlie an awning roller, a guard roller horizontally journaled in the outer end of the upper extension, and awning roller-supporting means carried by the lower extension, the distance between the front upper end of the awning roller-supporting means and the guard roller remaining constant on arcuate adjustment of the supporting arm on the wall bracket to accommodate change in awning pitch.

5. A center support for roller awnings comprising a wall bracket adapted to be secured to a building front, a supporting arm carried by and arcuately adjustable on the wall bracket in a plane at right angles to the plane of the building front, said arm having extensions adapted to overlie and underlie an awning roller, a guard roller horizontally journaled in the outer end of the upper extension, awning roller-supporting means carried by the lower extension, the distance between the front upper end of the awning roller-supporting means and the guard roller remaining constant on arcuate adjustment of the supporting arm on the wall bracket to accommodate change in awning pitch, and means to increase the distance between the awning roller-supporting means and the guard roller to permit of placement or displacement of the awning roller.

6. A center support for roller awnings comprising a supporting arm adapted to project outwardly from a building wall and underlie an awning roller, a belt roller journaled in said arm, an arm rockingly mounted on the supporting arm, a pair of belt rollers journaled in Said rocking arm, one of said rollers being in front of the axis of the awning roller, an endless belt encircling all of said belt rollers and adapted to support the awning roller on one of its runs, and means for adjusting the rocking arm against the load imposed by the awning roller.

'7. A center support for roller awnings comprising a supporting arm adapted to project from a building front and underlie an awning roller, a belt roller journaled in said arm, a second arm pivoted intermediate its length to said suporting arm, a pair of belt rollers journaled in said second arm, an endless belt encircling all of said belt rollers and adapted to support the awning roller on one of its runs, and means to pivotally adjust the second arm to cause one of its rollers to approach and the other to r'ecede from the awning roller.

8. A center support for roller awnings comprising a supporting arm adapted to project outwardly from a building front and having extensions respectively adapted to overlie and underlie an awning roller, a belt roller journaled in said arm, a guard roller journaled at the outer end of the upper extension of said arm, a second arm pivotedintermediate its length to the lower extension of said arm, a pair of belt rollers j ournaled adjacent the opposite ends of the second arm, the outermost roller being normally spaced from the guard roller a distance less than the diameter of the awning roller, an endless belt encircling all of said belt rollers, and means for swinging the second arm on its pivot to increase the distance of its outer belt roller from the 

